These muffins were the bomb! I wish I could have bottled up the smell in my kitchen while they were baking. The recipe came to me while I was experimenting with the new flavor combinations of McCormick’s 2012 Flavor Forecast.
So what is Flavor Forecast? Well, I’m so glad you asked.
Last week I participated in a webinar hosted by McCormick Spices. Their new 2012 Flavor Forecast was revealed. It’s an annual report compiled by McCormicks chefs and trend trackers that predicts what will be in the food scene this year. For the first time in 12 years, it has gone global. This year there are six trends such as Flavorful Swaps and Veggies in Vogue. Each trend has two flavor combinations making twelve in total. Blueberry with Cardamom and Corn Masa is one of the unique new flavors from the No Boundaries trend. For the complete list, click HERE. I had lots of fun cooking up the creative recipes which were presented in the webinar by McCormick Test Kitchen Chef Mark Garcia . I also created a few new recipes of my own. And in the meantime, I fed my hungry, hungry family.
I really had a hard time deciding which recipes and flavors to try first. Since Sunday was a football watching day at our house, I decided to try a recipe from the Simplicity Shines trend. The Vanilla-Butter Shrimp Rolls were just what was needed. I made these on smaller sized potato rolls so they were the perfect size to eat in between plays. Even my meat and potato loving husband liked them. I’ll admit I was a little hesitant about mixing vanilla into a shrimp sandwich but it elevated the butter and made the sauce slightly sweet but savory at the same time. I have always loved the combination of Vanilla with Butter in desserts. But now this flavor combination will go into some of my savory recipes too. To get this shrimp recipe plus more recipes from the Vanilla with Butter combination, click HERE.
I have partnered with McCormick and I will be sharing more recipes and flavors from the 2012 Flavor Forecast this month. More fun in the kitchen for me. In the meantime, go make these muffins. Your family (or co-workers) will thank you. Maybe you’ll even eat them all yourself!
Blueberry Cardamom Corn Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup masa harina instant corn masa flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp McCormick Gourmet Ground Cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Sicilian Sea Salt
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup fresh blueberries frozen can be used and they do not need to be defrosted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a twelve tin muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, mix together flour, masa harina, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom and salt. Mix well.
- With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar in another bowl until creamy. Beat in the egg until the mixture is smooth. Add half of the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk and the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until just moistened.
- Fold in the blueberries. Fill the 12 muffin cups two-thirds full with batter. Bake at 400 degrees F for 14 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan to a wire rack.
Notes
Thanks to McCormick for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are mine.
Kate
January 17, 2012 at 7:34 amEven without the cardamom, blueberry corn muffins sound so good!
Ramona
January 17, 2012 at 10:32 amThey look good. I know I like blueberries. Not sure about cardamon.
Those shrimp rolls look fantastic too!
Elin
January 17, 2012 at 11:30 amI also love using McCormick, good thing I still have frozen blueberries. 🙂
brandi
January 17, 2012 at 12:24 pmi LOVE cardamom – these look great!
Debbie
January 17, 2012 at 4:53 pmOh wow they look delicious! Those shrimp look good too!
Mardi@eatlivetravelwrite
January 17, 2012 at 8:15 pmMmmm – I already love blueberry cornmeal pancakes so I know I would love these. The cardamon is a nice touch – loved the Flavor Forecast for introducing us to these new combos!
Julie M.
January 17, 2012 at 8:37 pmWhat an interesting combination of flavors. That looks delicious!
Maria
January 19, 2012 at 2:50 pmLove the corn and blueberry combination! Yum.
Mary
January 19, 2012 at 4:05 pmLisa, everything looks delicious. The shrimp is intriguing and the muffins are to die for. This was a great promotion and they are sure to love the work you have done for them. Have a great day. Blessings…Mary
leslie
January 20, 2012 at 9:37 amCant wait to see all of your recipes!!!! Those muffins sound delightful
Alexis @ There She Goes
January 20, 2012 at 10:47 amlove the cardamom flavoring- good idea!
Magic of Spice
January 20, 2012 at 2:37 pmWhat a beautiful combination for a muffing…they look wonderful! And love those trend titles, especially “Veggies in Vogue” 🙂
Pam
January 20, 2012 at 4:10 pmThe new site looks terrific… and so do those muffins!
Viv
January 22, 2012 at 1:32 amthe shrimp rolls look so delicious! yea ive only ever used vanilla + butter combo in desserts too…never in savoury…so def intrigued to try it out!
im off to making one of the recipes from the blueberry + corn +cardamon recipes this afternoon 🙂 can’t wait!
cassie
January 24, 2012 at 8:43 amI follow you on FB.
Christopher
January 17, 2013 at 3:05 pmI am so glad I found this recipe – I have been wanting to make something a bit more unique using my masa harina, and what better way to do so than to make blueberry cornbread muffins! The cardamom really takes this recipe above and beyond, and it is SO delicious! I don’t think I used enough buttermilk, so perhaps I should have done closer to 2 cups. However, the taste is still phenomenal even though they aren’t as smooth on top as your pictures show. Nevertheless, I will certainly be making these again, and look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Thank you!